When Our Children Fight Our Wars
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Draco/Hermione
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Adult ++
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Draco/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
5
Views:
5,007
Reviews:
24
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
All Smiles And Sunshine? Life Isn't Like This
-----Original Message-----
From: Molly Donovan
To: Meeeeee Awesome
Subject: WCFOW[[chap.3]]
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:43:31 -0
A/N:
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I'll get back to some of you in the second Author's Note at the end. Enjoy the chapter! :D
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Chapter Three: All Smiles And Sunshine? Life Isn't Like This.
"You're joking."
Ronald Wealsey sat across the table from his ex-girlfriend, Hermione Granger, with a dark expression on his face. He was in a bit of a mood.
This mood of his had started mid-Monday last week and had carried on until today: Monday morning of his second week at school. And the reason for his foul disposition was the witch sitting in front of him. Or rather, the lack of said witch. He'd barely spoken to Hermione since they'd left the Burrow and it bothered him a great deal.
"Why would I be joking, Ronald? On the contrary, I'm quite serious."
All week it had been the same back and forth conversation between the two, only slightly varied each day. And Ron was getting sick of it.
He had been wary when Hermione never returned to their compartment on the train after leaving with Zabini and Malfoy, he had been slightly bothered when Malfoy was presented as a war hero and then Zabini had been appointed as Hermione's Head counterpart, he had allowed that bother to rise to full-on irritation when Hermione seemed to avoid him and gravitate towards Zabini - and, on occasion, Malfoy - during the classes they all shared (which was few, considering Ron's not-so-outstanding intelligence), but Ron had been downright pissed when Saturday came and Hermione had spent the day with Zabini. In their common room. Alone.
It was time to get some well-deserved explanations.
"Well I wish you were joking, 'Mione. Those two are bad news. Nothing but trouble. Being friends with them won't end well."
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, setting her fork and knife down and looking towards Ron incredulously. "Forgive me for saying so, Ron, but you wouldn't know the first thing about either of them."
People had stopped eating and started to stare at the two of them. Everybody loved a good bit of drama. Especially if it was between Ron and Hermione. They were what everyone had been talking about over the summer, after all.
"I don't need to! Just look at 'em! They practically scream 'evil'!" Ron exclaimed while gesturing towards the two Slytherins. "Especially Malfoy. He's a right foul demon, he is."
As he did this, Hermione followed Ron's gaze and was met with two very amused expressions. That annoyed her as well.
How dare they sit there watching while I'm here, about to have a major row with one of my friends about them. This should be private! The nerve!
But Hermione would give the two of them hell later. This was about Ron and what a complete ponce he was being.
"Evil? . . . .Demon?" Hermione questioned. "Have you forgotten how many times your useless arse was saved by Malfoy? How many times your arse was healed by Malfoy? How many times your food was cooked by Malfoy?
"And have you forgotten the number of lives that were saved because of Malfoy?! A lot more than were saved by you, Ronald Weasley!!"
Ron's ears were red with anger and humiliation now and Hermione fought the small wave of guilt she felt. It was always hard when the two of them fought; what scared her was the fact that the retorts were flying from her mouth easier and faster than ever before. He deserved it, she knew that. That wasn't the issue. The issue was that she now had tangible proof that their friendship was in the middle of a major decomposition.
And even though she was coming to that realization, Hermione wanted to keep this fight going. She wanted to push him to the point that he'd pushed her. And, Merlin had he pushed her. As if fighting a war and watching people die left and right hadn't been bad enough, he had to go and do jumping jacks on her heart as well.
He had started this. She would end it.
Because of the escalation in their voices, Draco could now hear everything being said. He was extremely surprised that Granger was sticking up for him like this. Sure, they'd been getting along fairly well (due to Blaise's constant interventions) this week, but Draco never expected her to show him any kind of loyalty. Blaise, maybe. But not him.
He was thoroughly surprised and gave the two Griffindors his full attention.
"That's all nice and pretty-sounding on the surface, Hermione, but he's still a self-righteous git. He's still spoiled and he's still walking around like he's better than us. Like he's better than me!"
"Well he just might be!" shrieked Hermione before she knew what she was saying. She was so caught up with being furious with Ron - for oh so many reasons - that anything coming out of his mouth needed to be shut down. By her.
So she kept on talking, saying whatever came to her mind. Besides, it definitely wasn't hard work making comparisons between Ron and Malfoy.
Actually, now that she thought about it. . .There really was no comparison. At all.
"Let's see; he's smarter. . . . .he's Captain of his House's Quidditch team. . . . .he's much better looking. . .he's -"
"How could you say all that, Hermione? How can you sit there and come at me while defending Malfoy?!"
"Maybe because," she took deep breath to prepare herself, "Draco" - audible gasps were heard throughout the hall - "deserves more credit than you give him! Maybe, Ronald, you're too self-righteous, though I don't see how you could be. You've no morals, yourself!!"
After that exclamation, Hermione was up and running towards the doors of the Great Hall. She was vaguely aware of the people staring at her and of Ron's shouts trailing after her, but she didn't care. She needed to get out of there. It was too much for her right now. Too many emotions to deal with.
She felt like she was going to break in two.
Back in the Great Hall, people were talking, taking sides, and making their way towards all people who might know some sort of inside information. A certain few caught the attention of the two Slytherin princes, one of who was completely shell-shocked by a certain girl who had practically just screamed his name loud enough for the whole Hall to hear.
He was in awe at the way it made him feel, but still, Draco allowed the pratter of the gossips to distract him for the moment.
". . . .asked Draco to shag her problems away. . ."
". . . .heard a thumping noise coming from the broom closet by their potions class. . ."
". . . .broke her heart after cheating with Brown. . . ."
". . .can't believe she would even talk to that sneaky arse. . . ."
Basically, everyone was more or less sympathetic with Hermione. . .but there was one major issue with what had just taken place: it'd been Draco Malfoy she'd been defending.
By the time Draco and Blaise had reached the doors of the Great Hall, Draco and Hermione had secretly been in love since fourth year and Ron had stolen her away, only to leave her heart broken and give Draco the oppurtunity to pick up the pieces.
It was a scene that both Blaise and Draco were happy to leave.
They had silently decided to go after Hermione and were now making their way to the Head's tower in pursuit. They were certain that that was where she had gone.
Much to their relief, no words were spoken right away. They walked in a sort of stunned silence.
Draco could barely think, so the silence was welcome. He simply couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that what had just happened. . . .had actually happened. It was as if he'd felt her words (one word in particular actually). And it had stung him; in a good way. If that was even possible. Draco wasn't so sure. Then again, he wasn't so sure of himself at the moment so he could hardly find the energy to care.
Granger may not have been talking to him when she'd said it. . . .but she'd said it. His name. He was too shocked for words.
A while later, Blaise broke the silence.
"You're going to thank her for that." It wasn't a question.
"Listen, mate, I'm as surprised as. . . .as. . . .I don't even have a comparison, all right? I'm bloody fucking confused."
Blaise remained quiet.
"But I'm not thanking her."
"The fuck you're not. Draco, you have to. Maybe not this second, but later today. You have to" When Draco did say anything, Blaise spoke again. "You don't understand. In fact. . .Don't follow me in."
As they both stopped in front of the portrait hole, Blaise turned to Draco.
"I mean it, Draco. Don't. You're not at that level with her yet. You don't understand."
"Again with that? 'Ooh! You don't understand!'" Draco said in a mock girl voice. "Bullshit, Blaise I'm smarter than you are. And who says I want to be on that level with her anyway?" He said this last bit with what was supposed to be disgust, but the question came out sounding more like a forlorn statement.
That certainly raised Blaise's eyebrow. But he didn't comment.
"You're not smarter than me." Draco gave him a 'is that so?' look, so Blaise elaborated. "Not with Hermione, you're not. Not with people at all actually."
And with that, he was through the hole and in his common room and Draco was left to wander back to the dungeons and prepare for his first class.
Just their luck that it was Double Potions, Griffindors and Slytherins.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Blaise. . ." Hermione said, sniffling. "I can't do this. Its horrible."
Instinctively, Blaise's hold on the girl tightened a bit. He wished she wouldn't cry. It was not something he was entirely used to and it still made him feel awkward and useless. Her problems did too since he couldn't relate to them at all. Draco and Hermione were his only real friends and he hadn't been in the war. It made him feel a bit awkward when Hermione came to him, upset over friends or memories. It left Blaise with nothing to say. He could only offer advice that came from a completely outside perspective.
He wished he could be a better friend, but until he gained some more experience in that particular field all he could do was hold Hermione and tell her everything was fine.
"Shhhh. . . . .Baby, it's okay, it's okay. I'm here. You're here. That's all that matters now. You made it. You survived. It's over. Don't let him ruin that."
Hermione had been most reluctant to open up to Blaise after her little episode on the train, but his persistence had made her see that he was genuine. Sincere. And then she'd decided she would be too.
The very first thing she told Blaise was that she wouldn't cry all over him again. She had then proceeded to tell him that she did not want to discuss the war.
She had gone back on her word in both respects within minutes of talking to him. Blaise had this way about him that made Hermione feel safe. It was almost as if she could tell that he'd made up his mind to be there for her and so she immediately started spilling her guts. Well, the easy guts anyway. Hermione had secrets, just like everyone else. And these were some secrets she would take to the grave.
It amazed her, though, how ignorant of the war Blaise had been before she told him about it in detail. He'd been so shocked at so many things. . .especially things involving Malfoy. He'd been quite interested in the side of his friend he didn't know; the hero, fighting for a new world.
Blaise had been interested in Malfoy, and he'd been interested in the person who had saved her life.
Too bad for him that Hermione barely remembered anything about that man. The only things she was sure about were his gender - male, obviously - and his height - around a head taller than her. But she slowly started to remember little details like what he'd been wearing and the color of the darkening sky that evening.
And it was like that with all her hazy memories. It seemed that the more questions Blaise asked about the war, the more details came popping into Hermione's head. Details she didn't want to remember, but knew she had to deal with to get over them. So Blaise was more or less her therapist.
When he held her, she collapsed in on herself every time. His unusual displays of affection were triggers for Hermione's break downs. She was still so hungry for kindness; so in need of someone to talk to who would really listen. She did feel horrible for crying on him all the time, but he assured it that he wasn't bothered by it.
Blaise was kind of like a surrogate Harry - only better. And that filled Hermione with an immeasurable amount of comfort.
"There's a good girl." He said quietly as he patted her head. She sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Blaise, I'm so sorr-"
"Don't even say it. I told I'd be here to listen to you and to try and help you through whatever the fuck this bloody war's done to you. I want to be here for you. We're friends now, Hermione, and once you're friends with me, you're trapped. Forever."
It was difficult for Blaise to understand all the different sides of Hermione. She was a great friend; even though she'd done most of the talking and confiding so far, Blaise could tell that she sincerely wanted to know his own thoughts and secrets and memories. . .when he was ready to reveal them. She trusted in people so much and yet. . .seemed to have no sense of hope or worth for herself. Here she was, the brightest witch of their age, a supposedly hardened war veteran and hero. . . . . .and yet she was so fragile.
He couldn't understand how no one else seemed to see that about her.
Hermione smiled. "Thank you."
Blaise simply shrugged. "Can we try to work this out without the waterworks now, 'Mione?"
"Of course."
"Good." He said, giving her a warm smile and allowing her to put some space between them. "So you've told me about the breakup. Let me see if I understand, yeah?"
She nodded and he continued.
"So you two liked each other for ages and then he finally asks you out. You're both happy as could be until the git drops the 'L' word. You tell him that it's too soon for you to declare love for him - which is completely understandable, mind you. He's a ponce."
When Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed lightly, he started talking again.
"So then he freaks out and starts dating that horrible shag of a skank, Brown. He doesn't tell you. Then when you realize you do love him and find him to tell him. . . .He breaks the news to you about said skank-bag?"
Hermione nodded, not even bothering to defend Ron at the moment. Surprisingly, no new tears formed behind her lids when she closed them for a moment to think.
"So why the hell do you care what an arse like that thinks, Hermione?"
"He's my friend, Blaise! Of course I'm going to care about what he thinks!"
Blaise was quiet for a moment before speaking.
"So what are you saying? You don't want to associate with Draco or myself anymore because of what this idiot thinks?" he was struggling to keep his voice even. He knew that Hermione would never want that, but the thought of it still scared him a little.
"Most certainly not! In all honesty, I'd much rather not associate with Ron."
"So don't."
"Blaise. . . ."
"What?"
"Its not that-"
"Yes it is that simple. Hear me out, Hermione." Blaise said before presenting his brilliant plan. "You ignore him. I mean flat-out ignore him and whatever shit he says for as long as it takes. If he has any brain cells at all - which he must have because, though I've seen him walking around like a zombie, he knows how to speak. Not very well, but it still counts, I suppose. . . . . Anyway, if he's your true friend, he'll ask for forgiveness."
Hermione flashed Blaise a look that told him she was not convinced. Ron was about as stubborn as a mule and there was no way he would change. This had only a very small chance at working the way Blaise said it would.
"Just trust me."
Hermione sighed. "Fine. What have I got to lose?"
"That's the spirit!" said Blaise too cheerfully for Hermione's taste.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh, thank Merlin." Blaise said with a sigh of relief, resting his forehead on Hermione's shoulder momentarily.
The new Potions Professor (he couldn't, and probably wouldn't ever, remember her name) had decided that working in groups of threes would prove to be much more productive than the standard paired arrangement that the class had been following last week. She also said that as long as the groups worked well together, the students could choose their own partners.
The minute he was allowed, Blaise stood up, located his best friend, made a mad dash for him before grabbing his wrist and all but throwing him onto the floor behind Hermione's chair. There was no way he wasn't pairing up with Draco, and he certainly wanted to be around his new friend as much as possible. This was the natural solution.
The thud behind her, had Hermione turning around and staring at the mass of rumpled cloak that was currently Draco Malfoy.
"At my feet where you belong, I see." She quipped.
Draco began muttering to himself at this. "I'll put you where you belong you little sla- Oof! Watch where you're kicking, mate." Draco said, rubbing his side before taking note of a rather good-looking girl he'd never seen before who was sitting right behind him. He smirked and layed back inching closer to the desk she sat at.
"Get up, Draco. The Professor's coming over!" Blaise lied in an almost bored voice.
At the word 'professor', Draco was up and looking crisp as ever. How he managed to do that, nobody would ever know. Not even Blaise. He had to admit, though, it was a bit annoying after fifteen years.
When Draco realized that the professor was, in fact, across the room, he gave Blaise an eye roll and slapped him over the head.
"Git."
"I'm sorry, mate. I just couldn't allow such a hideous floor decoration in the Potions Room."
After hearing Draco snicker, Blaise looked to his other partner. Seeing the look of confusion and bewilderment on Hermione's face, Blaise chuckled. Apparently she'd never witnessed any of the Amazing Feats of the Ordinary - But Extraordinary as performed by Draco Malfoy.
"You get used to it. Its a Draco thing. He can be covered in mud one minute, and impeccable the next."
"Ah, ah, ah." Draco reprimanded while shaking his finger back and forth. "You give me too much and too little credit. Too much because I would be far too lazy to clean myself up right away unless necessary. Oh, don't look at me like that, Blaise. Honestly. . .You get used to mud while fighting a war. Did you think it was all hotel suites and chocolate bars? At any rate. . .You give me too little credit because you don't mention how utterly handsome I am. I'd just work with the mud and make it look extremely appealing until I was able to cast a quick cleansing charm."
Hermione stared at Malfoy in disbelief as Blaise scoffed and rolled his eyes. After a moment, she raised her eyebrow and spoke.
"First of all, I don't have to 'get used to' anything, Blaise. Nothing really surprises me much anymore, so it's a non-issue" She sighed softly before giving Malfoy a look of feigned disgust. "Secondly, please do not ever give me any unnecessary images of you again. I've seen you covered in dirt, Malfoy, and you still weren't appealing."
"Oh so now we're back to formalities, are we. You really should stop with all the mixed signals, Granger." He sniffled and made a pretended to wipe a tear away as he said, dramatically, "You're breaking my heart."
Hermione rolled her eyes before turning to face him full-on.
"Don't be stupid. You know that was just for effect. For show. And if I had meant it, you wouldn't care."
At this Draco simply shrugged. "Enough with the boring stuff." He said before smirking. "Let's continue that discussion about how you claim I'm not irresistible."
This earned his a sigh of irritation and an eye roll. Not to mention, she had turned back towards the front of the classroom. Away from him. This didn't bother Draco in the least, though, and he continued.
"First of all, you're lying to yourself. You wish I wasn't irresistible, Granger. I look good no matter what I'm doing and you know it." As he said this, Draco noticed the Weasel straining to hear their conversation. His smirk grew.
He couldn't pass this up. Not when it was this easy. Not when Granger had set everything up so nicely.
After she had defended him fiercely and even used his first name, Draco had felt something. Like, really felt something. A good something. But he wouldn't dwell on that now; he had more important things to think about. Like what Weasel must have felt. What he must be thinking of right now. His anger, confusion, and jealousy. It was all dripping off of him like water off a person who's just gone for a swim.
So Draco decided to have a bit of fun.
Leaning down to Granger's ear, Draco raised his voice and said in a seductive tone, "Besides. . .I know exactly who it is you think about every night. We both do, Granger.
"It's me."
Hermione froze up and turned a most brilliant shade of red, while Draco and Blaise shared a laugh at the redhead whose face was currently matching the deep red of his Griffindor tie. When Draco looked back to Granger, however, he slowly let his laughter fade.
"It was only a joke, Granger; calm down. As if I'd ever think of you like. . . . . ."
But I already have! . . . Damn it all to hell. I wish I could find a way to be Granger-Oblivious again. I'd do anything for it. May even go blind. In fact, that would be great! I'd never have to see her. Ever again. . . . . .Bloody impractical not to be able to see, though. Scratch that idea.
Draco was now glaring at a spot on the wall behind Granger. He was completely unaware of the intensity with which he was doing so, nor was he aware of her bewildered expression as she studied his face.
You're not supposed to look like you do, you twat. You're just not. Its all right, though, because just because you have the looks, Granger, it does not mean that you have the personality. That's what Molly said every time she saw me with some bint. So, HA! You have as much personality as a dishrag, you do. And Molly told me that I should try for a nice girl. Oh, Merlin. If Blaise ever found out I was Molly's mama's boy, I think I'd kill myself.
At any rate you are definitely not a nice. . . . . . . . .Dammit, but you are.
. . . . . . . . .Fuckshit. I give up. I hate you, Granger. I really, truly hate you.
"Malfoy?"
"What?!" he asked far too quickly as his eyes darted from place to place to place that wasn't her.
"Oh, nevermind." He said on a tired sigh. "Just take a look at his face." When she turned resolutely away from him, Draco concluded that she was definitely not amused. Angry, even.
He sighed once again.
"It'll be satisfying, I promise." He whispered as Blaise barely contained his laughter.
"Blimey! He. . .he's. . . .pfthahahaha. . . .gone a new shade. . . . . . ."
And that was all it took for Hermione to glance over in curiosity. What she saw when she did so was actually quite amusing. Ronald was gripping the table so fiercely and with such an animosity that it looked like he was trying to keep himself from. . .well. . . .crapping his pants, for lack of a better term. His face - now contorted with contained rage and a shade of red that bordered on purple - did nothing to keep that association out of mind either. Before she knew it, Hermione was giggling uncontrollably.
This came as a complete surprise to Draco, Blaise, Ron, and anyone else who saw what was going on. Why would Hermione Granger be laughing like a hyena at her friend and ex-boyfriend, Ronald Weasley?
Everyone then turned to Draco and Blaise, all thinking along the same lines.
They've corrupted her.
After she had regained some small bit of self control, Hermione turned away from Ron and shook her head, still laughing lightly.
Today was turning out to be better than she thought.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
A/N#2:
Chapter title is from the song "Survive", by Rise Against. I picked it because. . .Well primarily because I couldn't find one that really fit this chapter and also because different things are bothering the different characters and they all need to work themselves and their issues out.
Now, here are my replies to you all!
Griffindorclutz - Thanks so much for the compliment! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story!
PotterEntourage - I sent you an mail that pretty much said it all, but again - thank you for noticing and appreciating all those things you mentioned. I was afraid people wouldn't like that whole "esp conversation", so you put my fears at rest.
kazfeist - I really like it when you review because you give such awesome feedback and point things out that most people don't see. You're awesome, haha. And I am toying with the idea of using that bit of knowledge (the whole 'Draco saved Hermione' thing) to someone's advantage. . .but it may not be who you think. We'll see though. ;)
HappilyJaded - I know you didn't review this story, but since you said you'd be checking this story out as well, I figured I'd respond to what you wrote aboutIt Must Be Done. Oh, goodness. Now where to start? you gave me such a wonderful review! I was so happy with it! Aaaah. I don't even know what to say. It was just so nice of you to say all that. Thank you so much. <3
Everyone else, I appreciate your reviews and I'm so glad that you're following the story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D
From: Molly Donovan
To: Meeeeee Awesome
Subject: WCFOW[[chap.3]]
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:43:31 -0
A/N:
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I'll get back to some of you in the second Author's Note at the end. Enjoy the chapter! :D
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Chapter Three: All Smiles And Sunshine? Life Isn't Like This.
"You're joking."
Ronald Wealsey sat across the table from his ex-girlfriend, Hermione Granger, with a dark expression on his face. He was in a bit of a mood.
This mood of his had started mid-Monday last week and had carried on until today: Monday morning of his second week at school. And the reason for his foul disposition was the witch sitting in front of him. Or rather, the lack of said witch. He'd barely spoken to Hermione since they'd left the Burrow and it bothered him a great deal.
"Why would I be joking, Ronald? On the contrary, I'm quite serious."
All week it had been the same back and forth conversation between the two, only slightly varied each day. And Ron was getting sick of it.
He had been wary when Hermione never returned to their compartment on the train after leaving with Zabini and Malfoy, he had been slightly bothered when Malfoy was presented as a war hero and then Zabini had been appointed as Hermione's Head counterpart, he had allowed that bother to rise to full-on irritation when Hermione seemed to avoid him and gravitate towards Zabini - and, on occasion, Malfoy - during the classes they all shared (which was few, considering Ron's not-so-outstanding intelligence), but Ron had been downright pissed when Saturday came and Hermione had spent the day with Zabini. In their common room. Alone.
It was time to get some well-deserved explanations.
"Well I wish you were joking, 'Mione. Those two are bad news. Nothing but trouble. Being friends with them won't end well."
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, setting her fork and knife down and looking towards Ron incredulously. "Forgive me for saying so, Ron, but you wouldn't know the first thing about either of them."
People had stopped eating and started to stare at the two of them. Everybody loved a good bit of drama. Especially if it was between Ron and Hermione. They were what everyone had been talking about over the summer, after all.
"I don't need to! Just look at 'em! They practically scream 'evil'!" Ron exclaimed while gesturing towards the two Slytherins. "Especially Malfoy. He's a right foul demon, he is."
As he did this, Hermione followed Ron's gaze and was met with two very amused expressions. That annoyed her as well.
How dare they sit there watching while I'm here, about to have a major row with one of my friends about them. This should be private! The nerve!
But Hermione would give the two of them hell later. This was about Ron and what a complete ponce he was being.
"Evil? . . . .Demon?" Hermione questioned. "Have you forgotten how many times your useless arse was saved by Malfoy? How many times your arse was healed by Malfoy? How many times your food was cooked by Malfoy?
"And have you forgotten the number of lives that were saved because of Malfoy?! A lot more than were saved by you, Ronald Weasley!!"
Ron's ears were red with anger and humiliation now and Hermione fought the small wave of guilt she felt. It was always hard when the two of them fought; what scared her was the fact that the retorts were flying from her mouth easier and faster than ever before. He deserved it, she knew that. That wasn't the issue. The issue was that she now had tangible proof that their friendship was in the middle of a major decomposition.
And even though she was coming to that realization, Hermione wanted to keep this fight going. She wanted to push him to the point that he'd pushed her. And, Merlin had he pushed her. As if fighting a war and watching people die left and right hadn't been bad enough, he had to go and do jumping jacks on her heart as well.
He had started this. She would end it.
Because of the escalation in their voices, Draco could now hear everything being said. He was extremely surprised that Granger was sticking up for him like this. Sure, they'd been getting along fairly well (due to Blaise's constant interventions) this week, but Draco never expected her to show him any kind of loyalty. Blaise, maybe. But not him.
He was thoroughly surprised and gave the two Griffindors his full attention.
"That's all nice and pretty-sounding on the surface, Hermione, but he's still a self-righteous git. He's still spoiled and he's still walking around like he's better than us. Like he's better than me!"
"Well he just might be!" shrieked Hermione before she knew what she was saying. She was so caught up with being furious with Ron - for oh so many reasons - that anything coming out of his mouth needed to be shut down. By her.
So she kept on talking, saying whatever came to her mind. Besides, it definitely wasn't hard work making comparisons between Ron and Malfoy.
Actually, now that she thought about it. . .There really was no comparison. At all.
"Let's see; he's smarter. . . . .he's Captain of his House's Quidditch team. . . . .he's much better looking. . .he's -"
"How could you say all that, Hermione? How can you sit there and come at me while defending Malfoy?!"
"Maybe because," she took deep breath to prepare herself, "Draco" - audible gasps were heard throughout the hall - "deserves more credit than you give him! Maybe, Ronald, you're too self-righteous, though I don't see how you could be. You've no morals, yourself!!"
After that exclamation, Hermione was up and running towards the doors of the Great Hall. She was vaguely aware of the people staring at her and of Ron's shouts trailing after her, but she didn't care. She needed to get out of there. It was too much for her right now. Too many emotions to deal with.
She felt like she was going to break in two.
Back in the Great Hall, people were talking, taking sides, and making their way towards all people who might know some sort of inside information. A certain few caught the attention of the two Slytherin princes, one of who was completely shell-shocked by a certain girl who had practically just screamed his name loud enough for the whole Hall to hear.
He was in awe at the way it made him feel, but still, Draco allowed the pratter of the gossips to distract him for the moment.
". . . .asked Draco to shag her problems away. . ."
". . . .heard a thumping noise coming from the broom closet by their potions class. . ."
". . . .broke her heart after cheating with Brown. . . ."
". . .can't believe she would even talk to that sneaky arse. . . ."
Basically, everyone was more or less sympathetic with Hermione. . .but there was one major issue with what had just taken place: it'd been Draco Malfoy she'd been defending.
By the time Draco and Blaise had reached the doors of the Great Hall, Draco and Hermione had secretly been in love since fourth year and Ron had stolen her away, only to leave her heart broken and give Draco the oppurtunity to pick up the pieces.
It was a scene that both Blaise and Draco were happy to leave.
They had silently decided to go after Hermione and were now making their way to the Head's tower in pursuit. They were certain that that was where she had gone.
Much to their relief, no words were spoken right away. They walked in a sort of stunned silence.
Draco could barely think, so the silence was welcome. He simply couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that what had just happened. . . .had actually happened. It was as if he'd felt her words (one word in particular actually). And it had stung him; in a good way. If that was even possible. Draco wasn't so sure. Then again, he wasn't so sure of himself at the moment so he could hardly find the energy to care.
Granger may not have been talking to him when she'd said it. . . .but she'd said it. His name. He was too shocked for words.
A while later, Blaise broke the silence.
"You're going to thank her for that." It wasn't a question.
"Listen, mate, I'm as surprised as. . . .as. . . .I don't even have a comparison, all right? I'm bloody fucking confused."
Blaise remained quiet.
"But I'm not thanking her."
"The fuck you're not. Draco, you have to. Maybe not this second, but later today. You have to" When Draco did say anything, Blaise spoke again. "You don't understand. In fact. . .Don't follow me in."
As they both stopped in front of the portrait hole, Blaise turned to Draco.
"I mean it, Draco. Don't. You're not at that level with her yet. You don't understand."
"Again with that? 'Ooh! You don't understand!'" Draco said in a mock girl voice. "Bullshit, Blaise I'm smarter than you are. And who says I want to be on that level with her anyway?" He said this last bit with what was supposed to be disgust, but the question came out sounding more like a forlorn statement.
That certainly raised Blaise's eyebrow. But he didn't comment.
"You're not smarter than me." Draco gave him a 'is that so?' look, so Blaise elaborated. "Not with Hermione, you're not. Not with people at all actually."
And with that, he was through the hole and in his common room and Draco was left to wander back to the dungeons and prepare for his first class.
Just their luck that it was Double Potions, Griffindors and Slytherins.
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"Blaise. . ." Hermione said, sniffling. "I can't do this. Its horrible."
Instinctively, Blaise's hold on the girl tightened a bit. He wished she wouldn't cry. It was not something he was entirely used to and it still made him feel awkward and useless. Her problems did too since he couldn't relate to them at all. Draco and Hermione were his only real friends and he hadn't been in the war. It made him feel a bit awkward when Hermione came to him, upset over friends or memories. It left Blaise with nothing to say. He could only offer advice that came from a completely outside perspective.
He wished he could be a better friend, but until he gained some more experience in that particular field all he could do was hold Hermione and tell her everything was fine.
"Shhhh. . . . .Baby, it's okay, it's okay. I'm here. You're here. That's all that matters now. You made it. You survived. It's over. Don't let him ruin that."
Hermione had been most reluctant to open up to Blaise after her little episode on the train, but his persistence had made her see that he was genuine. Sincere. And then she'd decided she would be too.
The very first thing she told Blaise was that she wouldn't cry all over him again. She had then proceeded to tell him that she did not want to discuss the war.
She had gone back on her word in both respects within minutes of talking to him. Blaise had this way about him that made Hermione feel safe. It was almost as if she could tell that he'd made up his mind to be there for her and so she immediately started spilling her guts. Well, the easy guts anyway. Hermione had secrets, just like everyone else. And these were some secrets she would take to the grave.
It amazed her, though, how ignorant of the war Blaise had been before she told him about it in detail. He'd been so shocked at so many things. . .especially things involving Malfoy. He'd been quite interested in the side of his friend he didn't know; the hero, fighting for a new world.
Blaise had been interested in Malfoy, and he'd been interested in the person who had saved her life.
Too bad for him that Hermione barely remembered anything about that man. The only things she was sure about were his gender - male, obviously - and his height - around a head taller than her. But she slowly started to remember little details like what he'd been wearing and the color of the darkening sky that evening.
And it was like that with all her hazy memories. It seemed that the more questions Blaise asked about the war, the more details came popping into Hermione's head. Details she didn't want to remember, but knew she had to deal with to get over them. So Blaise was more or less her therapist.
When he held her, she collapsed in on herself every time. His unusual displays of affection were triggers for Hermione's break downs. She was still so hungry for kindness; so in need of someone to talk to who would really listen. She did feel horrible for crying on him all the time, but he assured it that he wasn't bothered by it.
Blaise was kind of like a surrogate Harry - only better. And that filled Hermione with an immeasurable amount of comfort.
"There's a good girl." He said quietly as he patted her head. She sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Blaise, I'm so sorr-"
"Don't even say it. I told I'd be here to listen to you and to try and help you through whatever the fuck this bloody war's done to you. I want to be here for you. We're friends now, Hermione, and once you're friends with me, you're trapped. Forever."
It was difficult for Blaise to understand all the different sides of Hermione. She was a great friend; even though she'd done most of the talking and confiding so far, Blaise could tell that she sincerely wanted to know his own thoughts and secrets and memories. . .when he was ready to reveal them. She trusted in people so much and yet. . .seemed to have no sense of hope or worth for herself. Here she was, the brightest witch of their age, a supposedly hardened war veteran and hero. . . . . .and yet she was so fragile.
He couldn't understand how no one else seemed to see that about her.
Hermione smiled. "Thank you."
Blaise simply shrugged. "Can we try to work this out without the waterworks now, 'Mione?"
"Of course."
"Good." He said, giving her a warm smile and allowing her to put some space between them. "So you've told me about the breakup. Let me see if I understand, yeah?"
She nodded and he continued.
"So you two liked each other for ages and then he finally asks you out. You're both happy as could be until the git drops the 'L' word. You tell him that it's too soon for you to declare love for him - which is completely understandable, mind you. He's a ponce."
When Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed lightly, he started talking again.
"So then he freaks out and starts dating that horrible shag of a skank, Brown. He doesn't tell you. Then when you realize you do love him and find him to tell him. . . .He breaks the news to you about said skank-bag?"
Hermione nodded, not even bothering to defend Ron at the moment. Surprisingly, no new tears formed behind her lids when she closed them for a moment to think.
"So why the hell do you care what an arse like that thinks, Hermione?"
"He's my friend, Blaise! Of course I'm going to care about what he thinks!"
Blaise was quiet for a moment before speaking.
"So what are you saying? You don't want to associate with Draco or myself anymore because of what this idiot thinks?" he was struggling to keep his voice even. He knew that Hermione would never want that, but the thought of it still scared him a little.
"Most certainly not! In all honesty, I'd much rather not associate with Ron."
"So don't."
"Blaise. . . ."
"What?"
"Its not that-"
"Yes it is that simple. Hear me out, Hermione." Blaise said before presenting his brilliant plan. "You ignore him. I mean flat-out ignore him and whatever shit he says for as long as it takes. If he has any brain cells at all - which he must have because, though I've seen him walking around like a zombie, he knows how to speak. Not very well, but it still counts, I suppose. . . . . Anyway, if he's your true friend, he'll ask for forgiveness."
Hermione flashed Blaise a look that told him she was not convinced. Ron was about as stubborn as a mule and there was no way he would change. This had only a very small chance at working the way Blaise said it would.
"Just trust me."
Hermione sighed. "Fine. What have I got to lose?"
"That's the spirit!" said Blaise too cheerfully for Hermione's taste.
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"Oh, thank Merlin." Blaise said with a sigh of relief, resting his forehead on Hermione's shoulder momentarily.
The new Potions Professor (he couldn't, and probably wouldn't ever, remember her name) had decided that working in groups of threes would prove to be much more productive than the standard paired arrangement that the class had been following last week. She also said that as long as the groups worked well together, the students could choose their own partners.
The minute he was allowed, Blaise stood up, located his best friend, made a mad dash for him before grabbing his wrist and all but throwing him onto the floor behind Hermione's chair. There was no way he wasn't pairing up with Draco, and he certainly wanted to be around his new friend as much as possible. This was the natural solution.
The thud behind her, had Hermione turning around and staring at the mass of rumpled cloak that was currently Draco Malfoy.
"At my feet where you belong, I see." She quipped.
Draco began muttering to himself at this. "I'll put you where you belong you little sla- Oof! Watch where you're kicking, mate." Draco said, rubbing his side before taking note of a rather good-looking girl he'd never seen before who was sitting right behind him. He smirked and layed back inching closer to the desk she sat at.
"Get up, Draco. The Professor's coming over!" Blaise lied in an almost bored voice.
At the word 'professor', Draco was up and looking crisp as ever. How he managed to do that, nobody would ever know. Not even Blaise. He had to admit, though, it was a bit annoying after fifteen years.
When Draco realized that the professor was, in fact, across the room, he gave Blaise an eye roll and slapped him over the head.
"Git."
"I'm sorry, mate. I just couldn't allow such a hideous floor decoration in the Potions Room."
After hearing Draco snicker, Blaise looked to his other partner. Seeing the look of confusion and bewilderment on Hermione's face, Blaise chuckled. Apparently she'd never witnessed any of the Amazing Feats of the Ordinary - But Extraordinary as performed by Draco Malfoy.
"You get used to it. Its a Draco thing. He can be covered in mud one minute, and impeccable the next."
"Ah, ah, ah." Draco reprimanded while shaking his finger back and forth. "You give me too much and too little credit. Too much because I would be far too lazy to clean myself up right away unless necessary. Oh, don't look at me like that, Blaise. Honestly. . .You get used to mud while fighting a war. Did you think it was all hotel suites and chocolate bars? At any rate. . .You give me too little credit because you don't mention how utterly handsome I am. I'd just work with the mud and make it look extremely appealing until I was able to cast a quick cleansing charm."
Hermione stared at Malfoy in disbelief as Blaise scoffed and rolled his eyes. After a moment, she raised her eyebrow and spoke.
"First of all, I don't have to 'get used to' anything, Blaise. Nothing really surprises me much anymore, so it's a non-issue" She sighed softly before giving Malfoy a look of feigned disgust. "Secondly, please do not ever give me any unnecessary images of you again. I've seen you covered in dirt, Malfoy, and you still weren't appealing."
"Oh so now we're back to formalities, are we. You really should stop with all the mixed signals, Granger." He sniffled and made a pretended to wipe a tear away as he said, dramatically, "You're breaking my heart."
Hermione rolled her eyes before turning to face him full-on.
"Don't be stupid. You know that was just for effect. For show. And if I had meant it, you wouldn't care."
At this Draco simply shrugged. "Enough with the boring stuff." He said before smirking. "Let's continue that discussion about how you claim I'm not irresistible."
This earned his a sigh of irritation and an eye roll. Not to mention, she had turned back towards the front of the classroom. Away from him. This didn't bother Draco in the least, though, and he continued.
"First of all, you're lying to yourself. You wish I wasn't irresistible, Granger. I look good no matter what I'm doing and you know it." As he said this, Draco noticed the Weasel straining to hear their conversation. His smirk grew.
He couldn't pass this up. Not when it was this easy. Not when Granger had set everything up so nicely.
After she had defended him fiercely and even used his first name, Draco had felt something. Like, really felt something. A good something. But he wouldn't dwell on that now; he had more important things to think about. Like what Weasel must have felt. What he must be thinking of right now. His anger, confusion, and jealousy. It was all dripping off of him like water off a person who's just gone for a swim.
So Draco decided to have a bit of fun.
Leaning down to Granger's ear, Draco raised his voice and said in a seductive tone, "Besides. . .I know exactly who it is you think about every night. We both do, Granger.
"It's me."
Hermione froze up and turned a most brilliant shade of red, while Draco and Blaise shared a laugh at the redhead whose face was currently matching the deep red of his Griffindor tie. When Draco looked back to Granger, however, he slowly let his laughter fade.
"It was only a joke, Granger; calm down. As if I'd ever think of you like. . . . . ."
But I already have! . . . Damn it all to hell. I wish I could find a way to be Granger-Oblivious again. I'd do anything for it. May even go blind. In fact, that would be great! I'd never have to see her. Ever again. . . . . .Bloody impractical not to be able to see, though. Scratch that idea.
Draco was now glaring at a spot on the wall behind Granger. He was completely unaware of the intensity with which he was doing so, nor was he aware of her bewildered expression as she studied his face.
You're not supposed to look like you do, you twat. You're just not. Its all right, though, because just because you have the looks, Granger, it does not mean that you have the personality. That's what Molly said every time she saw me with some bint. So, HA! You have as much personality as a dishrag, you do. And Molly told me that I should try for a nice girl. Oh, Merlin. If Blaise ever found out I was Molly's mama's boy, I think I'd kill myself.
At any rate you are definitely not a nice. . . . . . . . .Dammit, but you are.
. . . . . . . . .Fuckshit. I give up. I hate you, Granger. I really, truly hate you.
"Malfoy?"
"What?!" he asked far too quickly as his eyes darted from place to place to place that wasn't her.
"Oh, nevermind." He said on a tired sigh. "Just take a look at his face." When she turned resolutely away from him, Draco concluded that she was definitely not amused. Angry, even.
He sighed once again.
"It'll be satisfying, I promise." He whispered as Blaise barely contained his laughter.
"Blimey! He. . .he's. . . .pfthahahaha. . . .gone a new shade. . . . . . ."
And that was all it took for Hermione to glance over in curiosity. What she saw when she did so was actually quite amusing. Ronald was gripping the table so fiercely and with such an animosity that it looked like he was trying to keep himself from. . .well. . . .crapping his pants, for lack of a better term. His face - now contorted with contained rage and a shade of red that bordered on purple - did nothing to keep that association out of mind either. Before she knew it, Hermione was giggling uncontrollably.
This came as a complete surprise to Draco, Blaise, Ron, and anyone else who saw what was going on. Why would Hermione Granger be laughing like a hyena at her friend and ex-boyfriend, Ronald Weasley?
Everyone then turned to Draco and Blaise, all thinking along the same lines.
They've corrupted her.
After she had regained some small bit of self control, Hermione turned away from Ron and shook her head, still laughing lightly.
Today was turning out to be better than she thought.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
A/N#2:
Chapter title is from the song "Survive", by Rise Against. I picked it because. . .Well primarily because I couldn't find one that really fit this chapter and also because different things are bothering the different characters and they all need to work themselves and their issues out.
Now, here are my replies to you all!
Griffindorclutz - Thanks so much for the compliment! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story!
PotterEntourage - I sent you an mail that pretty much said it all, but again - thank you for noticing and appreciating all those things you mentioned. I was afraid people wouldn't like that whole "esp conversation", so you put my fears at rest.
kazfeist - I really like it when you review because you give such awesome feedback and point things out that most people don't see. You're awesome, haha. And I am toying with the idea of using that bit of knowledge (the whole 'Draco saved Hermione' thing) to someone's advantage. . .but it may not be who you think. We'll see though. ;)
HappilyJaded - I know you didn't review this story, but since you said you'd be checking this story out as well, I figured I'd respond to what you wrote aboutIt Must Be Done. Oh, goodness. Now where to start? you gave me such a wonderful review! I was so happy with it! Aaaah. I don't even know what to say. It was just so nice of you to say all that. Thank you so much. <3
Everyone else, I appreciate your reviews and I'm so glad that you're following the story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D